Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

Indiana's journal page for February 7, 1961, includes sketches of Bar and Orb. Notes to the right of the sketches describe the work that Indiana did on the herms that day: "add red and blue; gr[een] already on bands," for Bar, and "add black and red [to] what was orange on white" for Orb.

Indiana also records a call from the artist Robert Natkin, inviting him to dinner in his new Riverside apartment, and a call from Ann Stenbrocker (misspelled Ann Steinbroker), who mentioned a party.