About Jay Rasmussen

Artist Biography I make landscape, nature, cultural, and portrait images that evoke a strong emotional response in me. My images are drawn from travel experiences throughout the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and a 12,000-mile motorcycle adventure with my son from Minnesota to Argentina. Photography helps me see and appreciate the world in a fresh way and I love seeing others connect with my work on a personal level.

Photography is a creative force in my life and I especially relish seeing, celebrating, and sharing beauty that I find in humble places. In order to accomplish this, I attempt to enter new situations with my eyes and heart open; I must switch off the world and truly experience the situation I’ve encountered.

I am a self-taught photographer and currently reside with my wife (Rose) in a 1916 farmhouse with gallery space in a converted barn in Maplewood, Minnesota. I hold a Ph.D. in Education and recently retired as a professor at Bethel University and before that I served as an elementary school teacher and principal. I’m an avid outdoors person, have hiked over half of the Appalachian Trail, lived a tent for over two years, and worked as a muskie fishing guide for seven summers.

Fortunately, my work has been featured in multiple art shows, the Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN, multiple galleries throughout the mid-west, in addition to winning numerous awards. My work was also published in the book “Reflections: Finding Beauty in Humble Places” and featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I was also recently selected as a "Portrait Equality Photographer" and “Photographer Without Borders.”

http://jayrasmussen.smugmug.com