“Art and music is my whole life,” explains Michelle Erskine, artist, curator of Art Truckee and founder of Michelle Erskine Entertainment. The collaborative art space once housed in downtown Truckee suffered greatly during the pandemic and Erskine is now looking for a new gallery space.
Erskine is a photographer and performance artist and owns Michelle Erskine Entertainment, which books artists and talent to perform in the Tahoe-Reno area. She hosts literary, performing, visual and fine art shows, and she herself writes, directs and produces her own productions. The last year was a struggle, and much of her work came to a screeching halt this past year.
“I don’t quite know what the future holds. It hasn’t unfolded yet. I know life is preparing me for something” –Michelle Erskine
“The pandemic hit us hard. It put all of our people (artists and musicians) on the couch,” she explains.
When I met with Erskine last year in her gallery before the shutdown, she pointed out several of her landscape photographs that depict the spectacular vistas and views of the Tahoe region. There are photographs of orange sunsets sinking below Lake Tahoe, snowcapped mountains and views of Rainbow Bridge on Donner Summit. Each captures the stunning essence of the area.
“For me, my therapy is when I am on top of a mountain. When I am on top of the mountain, looking through the lens of the camera, it is one of the only times I feel complete and at peace. I am able to take a breath,” says Erskine, who also does wedding and boudoir photography.
When asked what inspires her art and her process, she says, “The process of creating is as important to me than the final product. I go into something with an idea. How it unfolds is often more beautiful than what I expected.”
Erskine, a business owner and mother of two, is a busy woman. She is a Rotary member and believes it’s her civic duty to raise her children to help others. For Erskine, art and music are her way to give back to the community.
“I am organized and thoughtful about what I do that has value and purpose. It’s not about being busy. I just want to be open. I get to work with incredible humans,” says Erskine, whose passion is evident in her raw delivery of who she is and what she’s passionate about. As Erskine navigates a transitional time, she is busy working on booking music and artists for shows at local venues.
“We’ve booked quite a bit of music for the summer. We’ve booked local musicians Matt Reardon and Buddy Emmer, Peter DeMattei, New Wave Crave, an 80’s cover band, Dominator and Friends, a guitar-based trio and blues musician Mighty Mike Shermer,” says Erskine. She also is planning shows for watercolor artist Megan Jost, and painter and performance artist Alex Kelly, both of whom she represents.
As Erskine looks toward the future, she is dreaming and feels something brewing and percolating on the horizon.
“I don’t quite know what the future holds. It hasn’t unfolded yet. I know life is preparing me for something. Enhancing people’s lives, creating beautiful experiences is what propels me forward,” she says.
Art Truckee is online until the gallery finds a new physical space. | arttruckee.com, michelleerskineentertainment.com
