Rae Ripple is easily one of the most creative and original metal artists working today, and automobiles are just part of her repertoire.

We’re a little chagrined to admit we were late in learning about metalworking artist Rae Ripple from Big Spring, Texas. Possibly because we don’t subscribe to Netflix, where she was featured in the reality TV series Metal Shop Masters, we only recently discovered the beautiful tattooed woman with the bigger-than-life personality, inspiring personal story, and remarkable skills with a plasma torch. Thanks in part to the reality TV exposure, we presume, Rae has become a noted celebrity in the metalworking and professional welding communities.

Naturally, here at Mac’s Motor City Garage we are focused on Rae’s automotive art, especially her gift for creating entirely new forms within old ones with a plasma cutter. But we hasten to note she also works with motorcycles (she’s an amateur daredevil rider, by the way) and mobiles, sculptures, and business signs—most any medium, really, where her unique skills can be put to use. To learn more about her work you can visit her website, Rae Ripple.com, and her Instagram and Facebook pages, where we borrowed the images we’re using here. Be sure to check out this talented and engaging young artist.