Mac & Brigitte Lopez, Biographies

Biography of

Mac & Brigitte Lopez

of Whirlwind Studios

A Gift of Music......A Gift of Art.....transformed this couple's life, individually, and also brought them together. Mac & Brigitte Lopez now share their gifts with the world and generously give back that which has been given to them by God....the Creator.

A few years ago, Mac Lopez commissioned Brigitte Peters to draw a portrait of "Whirlwind", a long deceased Indian Chief. Brigitte, homeless after a collapsed marriage, had lost her home-based business along with her house. Friends who stored her furniture has also disappeared and she was left with $90 to her name. Working as a restaurant hostess, Brigitte Peters was barely making it. She decided to get financial aid to enroll at Platt College in Newprt Beach, California to learn computer graphics. Brigitte had always been an artist at heart and had a natural talent for drawing.

It was at this time Mac Lopez came into her life, and after seeing some of her drawings decided she should be the one to reproduce his picture of "Whirlwind". Brigitte felt a call to do this as she had always felt a passion for illustrations, especially drawing people. Macs old tintype of "Whirlwind" proved irresistable. From there, Brigitte's career as an Artist has grown, and awakened her Cherokee Indian heritage. Part of her earnings are given back to Indian welfare. "I hope to influence other people, anyone with a gift, to help other people," Brigitte says. Her relationdship with Mac blossomed along with her new found career.

The moment Mac Lopez first filled a Native American Flute with his breath, he knew he had discovered a gift from God - the Creator. Not only did the sound that resonated from his body and through the flute put him at peace, it also put him in touch with his Shoshone heritage. Music and Art have always been a part of Mac's Shoshone ancestry for generations, the love of playing his "Siyotanka" (American Indian Flute), dates back only to 1996. Before falling in love with Brigitte Peters, Mac sums up his life by saying he was a Vietnam Veteran who had spent much of his adult life escaping reality through alcohol and drug abuse. His romance with Brigitte, and the rediscovery of his own Shoshone heritage soon led him to a passion for the flute.

Mac collects flutes and helps others in their flute journey whether it be flutemakers, performers or anyone wanting a Native American flute. Mac quickly learned that his playing became more of way to pray without saying the words. The sounds reminds him of all lifes gifts - his wife, his children and the elders who came before.

Mac & Brigitte married in 1994, and along with embracing the gift of each other, they embrace the chance to help others with their gifts of continued Art and Music, in the spirit of "Whirlwind".

Call 951-581-0601 or E-MAIL - mac@whirlwindstudios.com