Art Downtown is going small … miniature really … this month.

The Hanover Area Arts Guild, with its Art Downtown gallery in Hanover, is sponsoring its first Miniature Art Exhibit during May. The artists love it and, Sharon Benner, who is coordinating the exhibit, says she thinks art lovers will, too.

“I was expecting 100 pieces,” she said. “We have more than 150.”

The minis are predominately paintings — oils, acrylics and watercolors. But the Arts Guild members also contributed three-dimensional assemblages of metal and found art, clay monotypes and collages.

“There’s sculpture, whimsical, lots of landscape,” Benner said. “It’s animal art, florals, abstract. And it’s from $10 to $150.”

The exhibit, which continues through June 2, is perfectly timed.

“People can collect these,” Benner said. “They make great Mother’s Day gifts or hostess gifts. Whenever people invite me to their homes, I always give them a painting.

“They are little gems,” Benner said.

The small paintings and sculptures, 24 inches square, are a way for people to begin or add to their collections, she continued.

“Some new homes with open floor plans — they don’t have a lot of walls. These are great for shelves,” Benner said of the miniatures.

The art, she added, is all by local artists and reasonably priced. Thirty-three artists are featured.

The exhibit can be seen during regular gallery hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.