--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I first made a grid, I happened to…" description: "\"When I first made a grid, I happened to be thinking of the innocence of trees, and then a grid came into my mind and I thought it represented innocence..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/agnes-martin-13825_dreams_when-i-first-made-a-grid-i-happened-to-b_772427.png" --- # When I first made a grid, I happened to be thinking of the… ![“When I first made a grid, I happened to be thinking of the innocence of trees, and then a grid came into my mind and I thought it represented innocence, and I still do, and so I painted it and then I was satisfied. I thought, 'This is my vision.'” quote by Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/agnes-martin-13825_dreams_when-i-first-made-a-grid-i-happened-to-b_772427.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/agnes-martin-13825_dreams_when-i-first-made-a-grid-i-happened-to-b_772427.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/agnes-martin-13825_dreams_when-i-first-made-a-grid-i-happened-to-b_772427.png) > “When I first made a grid, I happened to be thinking of the innocence of trees, and then a grid came into my mind and I thought it represented innocence, and I still do, and so I painted it and then I was satisfied. I thought, 'This is my vision.'” [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist linked the visual motif of a grid with the pure, untouched quality she associates with trees, seeing the grid as a symbol of innocence that guides her creative vision. **In simple terms:** She sees a grid as representing innocence, like trees, and paints it as her vision. Key Takeaway Use simple symbols to express deep personal meaning. Themes art symbolism innocence creativity visual metaphor Mood contemplative introspective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - personal studio work - art education - public talk Key Concepts abstract expressionism visual symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What personal symbols do you use in your work? - How does simplicity convey depth? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective; viewers may not share the same symbolic association. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [I live in Mexico in the wintertime, and I live off the grid down there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-live-in-mexico-in-the-wintertime-and-i-live-off-the-grid-down-there/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [Sometimes I think the Congress feels that if you only decided tomorrow to switch to wind power that in two years we'd be getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/sometimes-i-think-the-congress-feels-that-if-you-only-decided/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [... nets, grids, and other types of calculus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/nets-grids-and-other-types-of-calculus/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [With a giant battery, we'd be able to address the problem of intermittency that prevents wind and solar from contributing to the grid in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sadoway/with-a-giant-battery-we-d-be-able-to-address-the-problem-of/) [Donald Sadoway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sadoway/) > [I got an amazing 10-CD set, it's the music that Alan Lomax recorded in Haiti in 1936. And what's incredible is how fantastic the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-got-an-amazing-10-cd-set-it-s-the-music-that-alan-lomax-recorded-in/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Once a quarter, Amy and I go off the grid and totally disconnect. It's totally doable and it will change your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-feld/once-a-quarter-amy-and-i-go-off-the-grid-and-totally-disconnect-it-s/) [Brad Feld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-feld/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [People have presuppositions... By 'presuppositions' we mean the basic way that an individual looks at life- his worldview. The grid through which he sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-have-presuppositions-by-presuppositions-we-mean-the-basic-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The point is that (little-t) truth is a matter of definition relative to the grid one is using at the moment, and that (capital-T)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malaclypse-the-younger/the-point-is-that-little-t-truth-is-a-matter-of-definition-relative/) [Malaclypse the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malaclypse-the-younger/) > [I have been interested in the dialogue of abstraction and modernist painting - and the rich history of the grid. I also think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-beal/i-have-been-interested-in-the-dialogue-of-abstraction-and-modernist/) [Stephen Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-beal/) > [The grid is like the lines on a football field. You can play a great game in the grid or a lousy game. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-crouwel/the-grid-is-like-the-lines-on-a-football-field-you-can-play-a-great/) [Wim Crouwel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-crouwel/) > [I've been a writer and a parent since adolescence, it feels like, and I'm still making both gigs up as I go along. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/i-ve-been-a-writer-and-a-parent-since-adolescence-it-feels-like-and-i/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [The government built the grid to favor one industry over others. But I don't hear any conservatives screaming about that. Folks don't understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-government-built-the-grid-to-favor-one-industry-over-others-but-i/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We've always had to worry about the electrical grid and nuclear facilities, and they remain a concern; but cyber-terrorism, you know, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ve-always-had-to-worry-about-the-electrical-grid-and-nuclear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Time was our very first king. We all live our lives to the aggressive ticking of the clock. We don't question that our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/time-was-our-very-first-king-we-all-live-our-lives-to-the-aggressive/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) ## More by Agnes Martin > [I once taught art to adults in a night course. I had a woman who painted her back yard, and she said it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/i-once-taught-art-to-adults-in-a-night-course-i-had-a-woman-who/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [There's nobody living who couldn't stand all afternoon in front of a waterfall … Anyone who can sit on a stone in a field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/there-s-nobody-living-who-couldn-t-stand-all-afternoon-in-front-of-a/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [The adventurous state of mind is a high house... The joy of adventure is unaccountable. This is the attractiveness of artwork. It is adventurous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/the-adventurous-state-of-mind-is-a-high-house-the-joy-of-adventure-is/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [Doing what you were born to do … That's the way to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/doing-what-you-were-born-to-do-that-s-the-way-to-be-happy/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [The enormous pitfall is devotion to oneself instead of to life. All works that are self-devoted are absolutely ineffective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/the-enormous-pitfall-is-devotion-to-oneself-instead-of-to-life-all/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [The value of art is in the observer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/the-value-of-art-is-in-the-observer/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [“Beauty is in the mind, not the eye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/beauty-is-in-the-mind-not-the-eye/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [The Minimalists are idealist. They want to minimise themselves in favour of the ideal. But I just can't. You see, my paintings are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/the-minimalists-are-idealist-they-want-to-minimise-themselves-in/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [When you look in your mind you find it covered with a lot of rubbishy thoughts. You have to penetrate these and hear what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/when-you-look-in-your-mind-you-find-it-covered-with-a-lot-of-rubbishy/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [I think everyone is born 100 percent ego, and after that it's just adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/i-think-everyone-is-born-100-percent-ego-and-after-that-it-s-just/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/art-is-the-concrete-representation-of-our-most-subtle-feelings/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [I often paint tranquility. If you stop thinking and rest, then a little happiness comes into your mind. At perfect rest you are comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/i-often-paint-tranquility-if-you-stop-thinking-and-rest-then-a-little/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [Inspiration is there all the time. For everyone whose mind is not clouded over with thoughts whether they realize it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/inspiration-is-there-all-the-time-for-everyone-whose-mind-is-not/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [Beauty and happiness and life are all the same and they are pervasive, unattached and abstract and they are our only concern. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/beauty-and-happiness-and-life-are-all-the-same-and-they-are-pervasive/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [My paintings are certainly nonobjective. They're just horizontal lines. There's not any hint of nature. And still everybody responds, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/my-paintings-are-certainly-nonobjective-they-re-just-horizontal-lines/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) [Explore all 49 Agnes Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first made a grid, I happened to be thinking of the innocence of trees, and then a grid came into my mind and I thought it represented innocence, and I still do, and so I painted it and then I was satisfied. 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