Hello Fellow Travelers… Thank You
Thanks to you, we had a very good run.
When I first entered Johnny Depp’s People’s Artist Program, I had no idea what would happen. I hoped a few people might connect with the work.
Instead, hundreds of friends, readers, artists, architects, writers, and kind strangers rallied behind these strange architectural worlds I’ve been building through words.
Together, we climbed into the Top 20.
Then the Top 15.
Then the Top 10.
And when the dust settled, we finished with a strong 6th-place finish.
That’s something worth celebrating.
I want to thank every person who voted, shared a post, sent a message, made a donation, offered encouragement, or simply took the time to read my work. Every act of support helped carry this project forward.
I wish I could thank each and every one of you personally, and I will do my very best to do so in the days ahead.
What moved me most was not the competition itself, but the community that formed around it. Old friends reappeared. New friends joined the journey. Conversations began. People connected through art, architecture, history, storytelling, and imagination.
Together, we also helped raise awareness and support for ✨ The Art of Elysium ✨ and its mission of using art as a catalyst for social change. For me, that is a meaningful accomplishment all by itself.
Many of you discovered my work for the first time through this experience. Others have been traveling alongside me for years.
Either way, I hope you’ll continue the journey.
The competition may be over, but the architectural worlds continue to grow.
In fact, there are several exciting projects already taking shape.
📚 The portfolio book I worked on alongside a remarkable group of Julia Morgan scholars is finally available on Amazon: Julia Morgan, FAIA: Recipient of the 2014 AIA Gold Medal.
The book played a role in the effort that led to Julia Morgan receiving the AIA Gold Medal posthumously in 2014. Even in death, she was accomplishing firsts.
Julia became the first woman in the history of the American Institute of Architects to receive its highest honor as a solo recipient. At the time, the AIA had existed for more than 150 years, having been founded in 1857.
Since Julia's posthumous Gold Medal in 2014, two additional women have received the AIA Gold Medal as individual recipients, and two others have received the honor as part of collaborative teams.
In a very real sense, Julia was still opening doors.
That story has always resonated deeply with me. Throughout her life she entered rooms she was not expected to enter, crossed thresholds others said were closed, and expanded the possibilities for those who followed.
Today, many of us continue walking through those doors.
📚 Julia Morgan, FAIA: Recipient of the 2014 AIA Gold Medal
🎥 If you’d like to experience the moment for yourself, you can also watch the presentation of Julia Morgan’s Gold Medal at the 2014 AIA National Conference. The presentation, titled Celebrating Julia Morgan, beautifully captures both her legacy and the significance of that historic achievement.
🌿 Solaria Bloom, my book-length work of speculative nonfiction, is currently being workshopped. The project explores the intersection of technology, architecture, ecology, political power, and the future of civic life through the lens of what I call narrative architecture.
🍷 Bars and Brothels of the Gold Rush is off to a strong start, exploring California’s frontier through its architecture, taverns, hotels, dance halls, and forgotten communities. It examines where people lived, worked, drank, gambled, loved, and built new identities during one of the most transformative periods in American history.
🏛️ And the Phoebe Hearst biography continues to grow, tracing the life and influence of one of California’s most important philanthropists, cultural patrons, and institution builders. Her impact can still be seen today in education, architecture, the arts, and civic life throughout California and beyond.
In other words, there are many more worlds yet to build.
If you’ve enjoyed following this journey, I invite you to continue traveling with me through Twain’s Gazette, where I publish essays, stories, visual works, historical explorations, and future worlds built one page at a time.
📚 Subscribe to Twain’s Gazette
Thank you again, fellow travelers.
One threshold closes.
Another opens.
The architectural worlds continue.
🏛️✨
Kimberly Twain
Twain’s Gazette