The Blue Guitar magazine is a nonprofit project of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts. The Arizona Consortium for the Arts is a startup, nonprofit group dedicated to supporting and fostering artists and the arts in Arizona, including the literary, visual and performing arts.
For more information about The Blue Guitar magazine and The Arizona Consortium for the Arts,
visit our websites: www.theblueguitarmagazine.org and www.artizona.org.
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A Call to Artists for Spring 2025
The Blue Guitar magazine seeks art submissions in all mediums for the Spring 2025 Edition from Feb. 1 through March 4. Any artists who work in any visual art media, are 18 years or older and are part- or full-time Arizona residents can submit. It is free to submit and up to 5 images can be submitted. Artists are encouraged to submit images of work by e-mail; please provide high-resolution JPEGs of 300 dpi. Images must be identified in the e-mail with the artist’s name and contact information, titles of works, dates and mediums. Submissions must be in the best shape possible and publication-ready. To submit or for further information, e-mail Editor Richard Dyer at richarddyer@theblueguitarmagazine.org.
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Call to Artists for the Fall 2025 Blue Guitar
The Blue Guitar magazine seeks art submissions in all mediums for the Fall 2025 Edition Sept 1 through October 4. Any artists who work in any visual art media, are 18 years or older and are part- or full-time Arizona residents can submit. It is free to submit and up to 5 images can be submitted. Artists are encouraged to submit images of work by e-mail; please provide high-resolution JPEGs of 300 dpi. Images must be identified in the e-mail with the artist’s name and contact information, titles of works, dates and mediums. Submissions must be in the best shape possible and publication-ready. To submit or for further information, e-mail Editor Richard Dyer at richarddyer@theblueguitarmagazine.org. For more information, visit www.theblueguitarmagazine.org.
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2009 - cover art-logo contest
The submissions for the cover art-logo contest have been carefully reviewed by the Arizona Consortium for the Arts panel of distinguished art committee judges. They have chosen the first-place winner - it is Marjory Boyer’s painting “The Blue Guitar Magazine.” It has also been decided by the art committee that Marjory Boyer’s work will be the permanent cover, symbol and logo of the magazine. The second place winner is ”Stained Glass Blue Guitar” by Sharon McCarthy. The third place winner is “The Blue Guitar” Arizona Scenery - stained glass and brass wire by Holly Wagner.
Here are all of the contest entries and from time to time special editions may feature one of the entries, with the artist notified in advance. Congratulations to all of the artists, we are grateful to them for taking part as we launch our venture!
1st Place: Marjory Boyer - “The Blue Guitar Magazine"
Medium: Acrylic
Vision: The Blue Guitar Magazine - Always moving, growing, dancing, singing, creating, and promoting all arts to their upmost potential.....like the strings of a finely tuned guitar.
2nd Place: Sharon McCarthy - ”Stained Glass Blue Guitar”
Vision: My Muse is Art, her little sister is Music. I play guitar, piano and flute, and my favorite listening music is classical jazz. I recently made a drawing of Miles Davis and trumpet, soon to be rendered in glass. Designing and building the Blue Guitar was especially meaningful to me.
When I began thinking about the Blue Guitar theme, I remembered that I had a piece of turquoise glass I've been saving for 20 years, waiting to find just the right home. I bought the piece when "antiques" [mouth-blown European glass] were still abundant locally. Now I have all my glass shipped here from an importer in New Jersey.
This particular turquoise hunk, very thick, deep and wavy, is an "exotic", a one-of-a-kind piece made in England. I bought it only because I had to have it, knowing someday I'd use it for a special work of art. When I pulled it out of my bin last month and studied it, the piece of glass seemed to dictate the design. Extremely thick and difficult to cut, I knew I'd have to shape the design around it. The Turquoise Exotic, such a snob, demanded to be the focal point. It now has a glamorous new life as a Blue Guitar.
3rd Place: Holly Wagner - “The Blue Guitar”
Medium: Stained Glass
Vision: This piece was created specifically for The Blue Guitar. It includes not only the guitar but our prevalent Arizona sun, barrel cacti, and the Mesas of Northern Arizona nestled into the center of the guitar. My intention was to capture the breadth and depth of Arizona and its artists as well as the spectacular Arizona light, and to capture the state geography with desert sand below, canyon mesas in the middle and sun above.
Pepper Pepper - "The Blue's Blues"
Medium: Mixed-Media
Vision: I wanted to create an image that had an easily identifiable blue guitar and at the same time it had other elements that gave it rhythm. I also wanted to portray the merger of design, composition, and an international flair. I believe my image is versatile/flexible (the black space in the middle could be used for overlay of text or color to differentiate between stories or chapters) and unique enough to brand the cover.
Aileen Frick - "Rhapsody in Blue"
Medium: Oil and Collage on Canvas
Vision: Art is a collaboration of different thoughts and ideas, that when put together form a connection. ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is a collage of paper from various sources, that when united, create the blue guitar.
Cheri Saffro - "POOH CORNER"
Medium: Pastel
Vision: My pastel painting “Pooh Corner” submitted to the Blue Guitar Magazine Competition, depicts the role that music plays connecting every generation. Singing and playing guitar to his nephew, Adam and Madden bond and share a special moment.
Keli Medcroft - "Blue Guitar"
Medium: Digital Photography/Photoshop
Corinne McAuley - "Blue Guitar"
Medium: Beads
Vision:The piece that I provided is created completely in beads. The type of bead used is called Delica. These beads are small and squared in order to fit together properly. The process works on the basis of a needle and thread stitching one bead together with another to create a picture (I call them tapestries). When creating this piece, I not only used a rich blue for the guitar but, a vibrant red to support the color blue. The gold is 24k, nothing but the best for this piece. I hope this piece provides you with a type of art that is not as well known as other mediums but equal in visual appeal. This unique piece of art would be perfect for your first publication. Thank you for this opportunity to participate in your new beginnings.
Susan Vorwerk - "The Rhythms of Art"
Medium: Pencil drawing scanned and digitally manipulated.
Vision: My drawing is very organic - I do not try to force it. I designed the guitar (it made me think of words like dreamy, curvy and full) and once I was happy with it I worked outward freely, letting the other components create themselves. My ultimate vision was to have a viable logo design that focused around the guitar but with other elements - some easily recognized and some that were more abstract and left to the imagination of the viewer. I wanted the design to be a functional logo that still had an airy, dreamlike quality.