Constance’s Substack

Thank You to Anyone Who Has Ever Given Me Hand-Me-Downs

Some afternoons, epiphanies show up in the most ordinary disguises.

Aug 24 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

7

2

I Made $300 Brushing My Hair on Skype for 30 Minutes

+ Let's Talk About The Long Hair Competition

Aug 8 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

8

1

June 2025

Guided By Saints: The Enduring Allure of Joan, and Our Return to the Medieval (Again)

There is a Baz Luhrmann-directed Joan of Arc biopic on the horizon.

Jun 24 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

10

Is the "Abstract Mag" Summer Residency a Scam?

There are six more days to apply for this all-expenses-paid artist residency in the South of France, but should you?

Jun 8 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

3

1

May 2025

Podcasts for Road Trips/For Walking (To Get Your 10,000 Steps): To Download For Later

So you don't have to sit there, towel-clad and scrolling, hair still damp, no closer to getting out the door.

May 26 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

2

The Bell, the Swan & the Golden Thread: Asking Aridni Orca

From the green heart of Titirangi, a whisper.

May 3 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

3

Expired Vegetables and Infinite Love: In Conversation with Lil B

TYBG

May 2 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

10

1

April 2025

Loaves and Fishermen: Spinning Spinning Spinning in my Birth City

I have made friends with an eighty-six year old.

Apr 29 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

2

Hooves in the City: Notes on Animalistic Footwear

In rural Latvia one winter, alongside Eliza Baker at a self-sufficient school, I found myself in rooms overflowed with donated clothing, piled taller…

Apr 10 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

12

March 2025

SOIL, MOSS, AND PRIMROSE

Violet is an impatient gardener—an oxymoronic phrase—she drags huge potted plants to empty spaces in her garden so she can see the change in real time.

Mar 10 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

4

What are the three unlisted love languages?

The world of Anticipating Needs, Recall, and Spotlighting

Mar 5 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

3

February 2025

On Knowing and Being Known (Part IV)

8 More Questions on a Friday

Feb 20 • 

Constance Mary Holden McDonald

1

1