Metal in, photography out: For the next three months, Jeannie Tomlinson Saltmarsh and Mary Catherine Floyd -- artists based at the National Ornamental Metal Museum -- will take over Downtown's Jack Robinson Gallery.

Their first show opens at 6 tonight.

The 43-year old Saltmarsh, a native Memphian who began working with metal in the early 1990s, has cast doorstops, light switch plates, sculptures and wall art from aluminum.

Saltmarsh plays with familiar childhood forms -- clown figures and doll parts -- and icicle-like protrusions in pieces like "Super Spikes Garden Watcher" and "Escaping the Net," which deftly meld humor and gothic horror. In other work, such as her "Ameoba" series, she pushes the boundaries of aluminum casting with delicate stalactites that bend through the air.

The 26-year-old Floyd, an Appalachian State University graduate, came to the National Ornamental Metal Museum as a resident artist in February.

By corrugating, then flattening metal sheets, Floyd has fashioned an entire wardrobe of paper doll-like outfits. It's a natural progression, says the artist, who majored in fiber arts. She crimps, weaves, and laces steel into pieces like "Stewed Tomatoes," a 1950s-style house dress.

Formal wear is fashioned from copper screen-door mesh, which serves as a filigree; meanwhile, the corrugator irons sharp creases into other garments.

Steven Cuzzilla, a Southaven-based blacksmith employed by the museum, has filled the gallery's second floor with a heady conglomeration of work created from steel, fabric, recycled wrought iron, paper and gel.

Freestanding sculptures like "The Clumsy Ballerina" and "Isolation" are willowy, dream-like figures that seem to contradict the laws of gravity. Nearby, a series of chunky, weighted "Labyrinth" vessels, reminiscent of excavated earthenware bowls, stand in sharp contrast.

Cuzzilla uses maze-like patterns in other work, including a mesh wall hanging entitled "Surrender Labyrinth" and a fabric-and-metal piece called "Labyrinth and Lace."

"My Yoke" -- constructed from two Army surplus gas cans, which are connected by a graceful yoke -- makes a multitude of statements, political and personal. Other pieces, such as "Okay Destroyer" and "Tobacco Mixer," document the artist's efforts to quit smoking, while "Dice (Recapitulate)" and "Vessel (Wood)" play with found words, concepts, materials and textures.

Although the exhibit at Jack Robinson Gallery is not under the aegis of the National Ornamental Metal Museum, the museum's newly appointed director, Carissa Hussong, couldn't be more supportive.

"I think it's great for the museum," says Hussong. "These artists are in the beginning phases of their careers, and it's wonderful that they're creating a body of work and sharing it."

A show of work by Jeannie Tomlinson Saltmarsh, Mary Catherine Floyd and Steven Cuzzilla opens at 6-9 tonight at Jack Robinson Gallery, 44 Huling, at South Front.