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2021 IYCK Mammoth Cave Regional Art Contest Winners

And the Winners Are…

Mammoth Cave National Park is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Mammoth Cave Regional Cave and Karst Art Contest!

Winners of the 8 years old and under group:


First Place: Adair Lawrence (age 7) Bellville, IL

Crayon drawing shows 4 quadrants depicting a door to the cave, an animal, a fossil, and ancient petroglyph.
Adair used crayon and paint in his artwork that was inspired by fossils, famous landmarks, and evidence of prehistoric Native Americans within Mammoth Cave.


Second Place: Sebastian Beckner (age 8) Providence Forge, VA
Close-up photo of a simple candle style lantern, the orange flame casts shadows and creates a halo.




Third Place: Callie Robertson (age 6) Mammoth Cave, KY

Abstract painting - bright blue meets the left edge, leading to a black jagged line, most of the image is dark and light brown shades on the right side.


Winners of the 9 to 13 years of age group:


First Place: Jaxon Brobst (age 9) Toledo, OH
Complex color pencil drawing shows a wall of stalactites and stalagmites in tans, browns, and orange.

Jaxon used color pencils to create a scene of cave formations found within Mammoth Cave. Jaxon said, “I had fun drawing this, because I had so much fun there. I want to go back and see the caves again.”


Second Place: Miranda Mahlum (age 10) Evergreen Park, IL

Layers of color in dark warm brows, gray, and black. The black layer takes up the lower half of the artwork.


Winners of 18 and older group:


First Place: Troy Burden, Hardyville, KY

View looking out from a cave entrance. A small pool of blue water, two narrow streams flow into the pool over a ledge in the center of the artwork. Framed by the rock walls and ceiling of the cave.

Troy’s oil painting is a view looking out of a cave. He said, “I’ve seen this scene in my mind and wonder how long it took to create.”


Second Place: Wayne Garmon, Glasgow, KY

Aerial photo of green rolling hills and valleys of farm fields. Houses and muted green trees dot the landscape, the horizon in the distance and a pale gray sky lays in the background.



The winning artwork was chosen based on the piece’s originality, creativity, quality, and relevance to the theme “Discover what’s under your National Park.” Park staff enjoyed looking at the works and were drawn to different aspects of the artists’ vision. It wasn’t easy to select a winner as all the submissions were outstanding.

National Contest


All First Place Winners will be forwarded to the National Cave and Karst Art Contest. National winners will be announced on the event homepage International Year of Caves and Karst 2021—NPS Celebrates! in September 2021.

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Mammoth Cave National Park

Last updated: October 4, 2022