Here are the original Files --- https://site.icarusprojectarchive.org/files/IcarusDrookerPostcardINDDFiles10-28-09.zip

Here are the latest .indd files and .pdfs for printing

https://site.icarusprojectarchive.org/files/IcarusDrookerPostcardREVISED11-09.zip

NOTE - NEEDS PROOFING. Also there could be a problem with the linked files, there was an error in the InDesign process that I don't quite understand. Basically we need to proof with the printer to make sure it will look good and not pixellated or something unexpected.

Here is the latest version

ORANGE SIDE

Community Website, Support, and Publications
By and For People Struggling With Psychiatric Diagnosis and Madness

The Icarus Project was created by people labeled with psychiatric diagnoses such as "bipolar," and "schizophrenia" who view our experiences as mad gifts rather than “diseases” or “disorders." By taking care of our double-edged blessings, we can reach places of great vision and creativity. But like the mythical boy Icarus, we also have the potential to fly dangerously close to the sun -- into realms of trauma and isolation -- and crash in a blaze of fire and confusion. At our heights, we create music, art, words, and inventions which touch people’s souls and change the course of society. At our depths, we may find ourselves alienated and alone, incarcerated in psychiatric institutions, or dead by our own hand. Despite the risks we face, and knowing that people with extreme states of consciousness have been persecuted throughout history, we also believe we are capable of some of the world's most brilliant contributions.

Learning to Use Our Wings

The Icarus Project is a place for anyone living with "madness" or different states of consciousness to connect with friends, share support, explore ourselves beyond psychiatric labels -- and change the world. We learn from each other’s victories and missteps, offer stories and art, and help each other grow. We strive to create a new culture and language that resonates with our actual experiences, rather than trying to fit our lives into the conventional mental health system.

Together we navigate the extremes of our heights and the depths of our depressions. We're exploring -- with or without psychiatric drugs -- the potentials offered by holistic health, diet, activism, art, and spiritual focus. We embrace diversity and respect different choices. Often we channel our tremendous energy into creation - be it by painting murals, writing books, composing music or traveling across the country, converting diesel cars to run on vegetable oil, or raising permaculture gardens that are nourished with waste water. In our own ways we're all working to create full and independent lives, where the ultimate goal isn't just to survive, but to thrive. Despite the effort necessary just to stay balanced and grounded, we also intend to fly -- and make the world better, more beautiful, and way more interesting.

The Icarus Project is a place that allows us feel less alienated, and, as individuals and a community, to tap into the true potential that lies between brilliance and madness.

_______________________________

ORANGE SIDE - CURRENT - 1013 characters

title ---

Community Website, Support, and Publications
By and For People Struggling With Psychiatric Diagnosis and Madness

 The
Icarus
Project
was created by a group of people diagnosed with Bipolar  and similar diagnoses who see conditions like ours as dangerous gifts to be cultivated and taken care of rather than “diseases” or “disorders” needing to be cured. With these double edged blessings  we have the ability to fly to places of great vision and creativity, but like the mythical boy Icarus, we also have the potential to fly dangerously close to the sun -- into realms of delusion and psychosis -- and crash in a blaze of fire and confusion. At our heights we may find ourselves capable of creating music, art, words, and inventions which touch people’s souls and shape the course of history. At our depths we may end up alienated and alone, incarcerated in psychiatric institutions, or dead by our own hands. Despite these risks, we understand that we are members of a group that has been misunderstood and persecuted throughout history, but has also been responsible for some its most brilliant creations. And we are proud.

ORANGE SIDE - REVISION - WILL PLUS ANGEL + Annie (I bolded my alterations, except where I cut things that thus couldn't be bolded)

(989 characters, with spaces)

The Icarus Project was created by people labeled with psychiatric diagnoses such as "bipolar" who view our experiences as mad gifts to be cultivated and taken care of rather than “diseases” or “disorders” to be fixed. With these double-edged blessings, we have the ability to fly to places of great vision and creativity. But like the mythical boy Icarus, we also have the potential to fly dangerously close to the sun -- into realms of trauma and isolation -- and crash in a blaze of fire and confusion. At our heights, we may be capable of creating music, art, words, and inventions which touch people’s souls and change the course of society. At our depths, we may find ourselves alienated and alone, incarcerated in psychiatric institutions, or dead by our own hand. Despite these risks, and although people with extreme and altered states of consciousness have been persecuted throughout history, we have also been responsible for some its most brilliant creations. And we are proud. 

BLACK SIDE - REVISION WILL + ANGEL + Annie (I bolded my alterations, except where I cut things that thus couldn't be bolded)

Learning to Use Our Wings

The Icarus Project is a place for anyone with "madness" or different states of consciousness to connect with each other, create alternative support, explore our experiences beyond labels and psychiatric diagnoses, and change the world through activism. We learn from each other’s missteps and victories, share stories and art.  We strive to create a new culture and language that resonates with our actual experiences, rather than trying to fit our lives into the conventional framework offered by current dominant mental health models.

Some of us use psychiatric drugs to regulate and dampen the extremes of our heights and the hopeless depths of our depressions, while others turn to holistic health and live with the mercurial nature of our moods and minds through diet, exercise, and spiritual focus. Often we find that we can handle ourselves better when we channel our tremendous energy into creation - be it by painting murals, writing books, composing music or traveling across the country, converting diesel cars to run on vegetable oil or raising gardens that are nourished with the waste water from our showers. In our own ways, we're all working to create full and independent lives for ourselves where the ultimate goal is not just to survive and "manage our symptoms", but to thrive. Despite the effort necessary just to stay balanced and grounded, we intend to make the world we live in better, more beautiful, and way more interesting.

The Icarus Project is a place that helps people feel less alienated, and allows us -- both as individuals and as a community -- to tap into the true potential that lies between brilliance and madness.