Dust reprocesses the intrinsic radiation of active galactic nuclei
(AGN) to emerge at longer wavelengths.  The mid-infrared (MIR)
luminosity depends broadly on luminosity of the central engine, but in
detail it also depends on the dust distribution.  Here we observe
nearby normal AGN with the MIR instruments of Gemini to achieve
spatial resolution better than 100 pc.  We use absorption-corrected
X-ray luminosity as a proxy for the intrinsic AGN emission and find
that the reprocessed MIR emission is essentially isotropic, with no
significant difference between optically classified Seyfert 1 and 2
galaxies.  Spectroscopic differences, both at optical and IR
wavelengths, indicate that the immediate dusty surroundings of the AGN
are not spherically symmetric, as in standard unified AGN models.  A
local environment that is clumpy can account for this dependence on
viewing geometry while producing MIR continuum emission that remains
nearly isotropic, although the material is not optically thin at these
wavelengths.  We find some luminosity dependence in the X-ray/MIR
correlation, which may be a consequence of contamination by dust
emission associated with star formation, even on these small scales.

Ns ranges 10^10-12