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Nature’s Duet: Art of the natural world BY MIICHELE ALPERIN
EHS Junior Amanda Curtiss shows off the High Game award she won at the 41st annual Central Jersey bowling classic in January. Her score was 225.
Curtiss a key to EHS bowling success BY JUSTIN FEIL
Amanda Curtiss discovered a pair of new passions when she started at Ewing High School. The Ewing junior was introduced to the girls bowling team and the opportunity to work with Special Olympics/Unified Sports two years ago. Now they are an integral part of her life,
and even intertwine with the chance for her to coach bowling to other Ewing students in the Unified program. “It’s definitely difficult to help them out, but you just have to be patient with them,” Curtiss said. “Once you’re patient with them, they understand what you’re trying to help them with. And it’s definitely fun to help them
with a sport you love to do.” Curtiss, who also has played field hockey for the Blue Devils since middle school and played softball as a freshman, is part of the bowling team for the third straight season. She was asked to come out for the bowling team by a friend, Sierra Reid, who has since graduated after a See CURTISS, Page 11
In the “Nature’s Duet—A Fine Art Exhibit” at Tulpehaking Nature Center in Hamilton, artists Laura Beard and Abigail Ella Johnson offer artwork that expresses their own deep connections to the natural world, from different but complementary vantage points. Both share a desire to draw viewers of their art into stronger connections with the natural world. On her website, laurabeardart. com, Beard, a Ewing resident, captures her connection to the natural world, in particular animals and their habitats: “There is nothing that inspires me more than the natural world and the rich complexities of the lives that inhabit it. I strive, with every piece, to convey the uniqueness of the subject and the unflinching beauty of our temporary existence.” Johnson also describes her “profound appreciation for and interest in the natural world” on her website, artbyaella.com. “I’m driven by a deep desire to understand humanity’s ever-evolving place in nature, and how it shapes our experiences. As a result, I explore various contexts, investi-
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gating natural phenomena from personal, historical, scientific, social, and cultural perspectives.” Beard and Johnson met for the first time at the Ellarslie Open 40 in summer 2023, where they both received awards: Johnson’s “Colony/Collapse” won the Digital Art Award, sponsored by Hunter Research, and Beard’s “Stick in the Mud” won the Watercolor Award in Memory of Robert Sakson. An artist friend of both, Margaret Simpson, invited them to be part of Nature’s Duet. “It was quite a delightful surprise to see that her art and my art worked together so well,” Beard says. “Her abstracts are really amazing, the colors and textures, and in my opinion capture the essence of the natural world in a way that I have never felt comfortable being able to do.” A free reception with the artists takes place Sun., Feb. 4, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The show runs from through Feb. 28, Wed. through Sat., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information, email info@abbottmarshlands.org. For Beard, attending a book talk on Tomie dePaola’s The Art Lesson at age six or seven cemented for her the idea of becoming an artist. “He told me See BEARD, Page 6
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