Class is toward her dream of installing an art community in the Santa Ynez Valley
Steeped in art since her childhood in Ukraine, Irina Malkmus is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of building an art community in the Valley, thanks to her plucky nature and Allan Hancock College. She will be teaching an oil and acrylic art class at Santa Ynez High School starting June 24.
Malkmus is a prolific painter in oil, acrylics, pastels, watercolor, mixed media, found objects, and pewter, creating works in realism, synthetic cubism, and surrealism. She has an eclectic style. She is also a permanent makeup artist. But her long-desired goal, since moving to the Valley in 2012, was to build an art community in Solvang.
“It was always my idea to bring art classes into the Valley, to gather people together and have a good time, united by a unique art project, and to get to know each other through the art process,” said Malkmus.
Her idea took hold in January 2024 when she started a free art social club based on socializing through healing art, called the “Serenity Art Club.” They meet once a month, but initially, finding a permanent space in which to gather was a difficult undertaking.
“I asked over a dozen businesses and churches in the Valley if they could accommodate my dozen or so enthusiastic students for three hours once a month, but everyone said no, giving me different reasons why they couldn’t. The Coffee House at Chomp was the first one to open its doors to us,” said Malkmus. “As the classes grew, we then moved to Santa Ynez Valley Community Outreach Senior Center at the former library in Buellton.”
But Malkmus wanted to expand to accommodate even more participants. Her former professor at Allan Hancock College had an idea.
“John Hood, my art professor from my days studying art at Allan Hancock College, strongly suggested that I reach out to the art department at Allan Hancock College to see if they could facilitate my dream of having an art therapy class,” Malkmus said. “Without his support, I would not have been brave enough to go in that direction.
“So, I approached Allan Hancock College to see if I could hold my art classes in their section of the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. It wasn’t easy because all of my diplomas, three years in nursing school and five years in psychology, were from Ukraine. It took them four months to calculate my credits from my past education. I was just hoping all the time that I could accomplish my dream of bringing people together to experience the power of healing art.”
Hancock liked the idea, but complications ensued.
“At first, they were very enthusiastic about my idea and wanted to give me the green light to start these classes, but later they discovered there was a conflict with their regulations and that they would have to do more work to create a new type of art course, and it would take about a year to solidify,” Malkmus said. “But I wouldn’t take no for an answer, and I was fortunate to have the undying support of Donna Avila, who worked tirelessly to make it happen from the ground up.
“We came up with a compromise, which was for me to teach an oil and acrylic art class while they set up my dream class. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I am looking forward to teaching my new class of students this summer.”
Malkmus will be teaching her first oil and acrylic art class for six weeks on Tuesdays starting June 24, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Allan Hancock Department at the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. Classes are for adults only, and are free; just purchase your own materials. Find the class easily with CRN: 10858. Register online at https://www.hancockcollege.edu/.
Malkmus will continue her monthly “Serenity Art Club,” which meets at the Santa Ynez Valley Community Outreach Senior Center at the former library in Buellton. These three-hour gatherings are structured around a themed introspective questionnaire, which allows people to self-reflect and create a unique vision from within themselves and share information about their creations.
“All of my students, 80 percent of whom are women, are all different ages and from different backgrounds, so it is a diverse and interesting group of people who want to express themselves through their art,” she said.
For more information on the Serenity Art Club, call (805) 325-8603 or on social media under the Irina Malkmus.
