Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville shows off the talents of three exceptionally unique metro-area artists in January 2020.  It’s a small (art) world after all in the new miniature work of Lori Anne Boocks. Supported by a cast of model railroad figures, Boocks explores current events, imaginary large-scale installations, and how people experience art. Playful and often personal, her sparse dioramas invite you to leave our big noisy world behind and lean in for intimate adventures in “slow looking” where art becomes backdrop, mirror, and lens. In a world where we are constantly bombarded by information, the paintings in Information Overload create a space for viewers to break free of the noise of daily life. Stephen Boocks uses a variety of processes associated with composers of minimalist music to create works that only ask to be considered and enjoyed as shapes, lines, and colors, without any specific agenda. Allen Hirsh draws inspiration for his mathematically transformed images from numerous antecedent artists, among them Washington painters of the color field school. This exhibit is inspired by Gene Davis, one of the most prominent of the color field artists. Where Davis usually produced elegantly simple, purely abstract structures, Hirsh prefers intense complexity in his similarly abstract creations - owed in part to his background as a biologist - yet he retains strong vertical elements and contrasting colors in these pieces as the connection to Davis. These exhibits will open for First Friday festivities on January 3rd between 6pm and 9pm and will showcase Resident Artists’ open studios for browsing and shopping, and acoustic guitar with David Ziegele.