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.

In his journal entry for May 1, 1962, Indiana notes that it was "another cold dreary day," making his studio "uncomfortably cold," but that he still managed to repaint Yellow Fork—Eat and stencil his signature on six small canvases, which was the number that his gallerist Eleanor Ward had asked for. The canvases were: Up (wheel), Up (arc), White Fork—Eat, USA—66 (renamed Route 66), Grass, and Ice.

Indiana writes that he and J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss) went up to Stable Gallery by cab, carrying the paintings in a cardboard box. He had an hour to sit and chat with Ward, and he received his first check from the gallery. He records that he visited collector Joseph Heil after leaving the gallery, and that Heil's construction (U-2), was not as loose as he had inferred, that it only needed "a small prop for [the] base, as it [was] not absolutely perpendicular." Indiana also notes that Octagon (Polygon: Octagon) was nicely hung, but that Heil would be returning the Hexagon (Polygon: Hexagon), thinking he might want a smaller piece instead. Heil would later purchase the painting 8.

Indiana records going downtown and having dinner, and details a long phone call with Art (clinical psychologist and art collector Arthur Carr) from the night before.