Sleep
I need eight hours of sleep, but I never get it, except at weekends. I have anxiety dreams, usually about putting up an exhibition and not having the work. Sometimes work comes to me in a dream. You can be gnawing away at something for months, years even, and suddenly wake up and it gels. I do 10 minutes of Pilates every morning, if I’m in the mood.
Eat
I don’t skip meals because I get blood sugary. Workday breakfast is fruit, cereal and black coffee; lunch is soup and a sandwich, or sushi. Since I had Lily, 16 years ago, my place in the kitchen has been taken by my husband [the artist Jeff McMillan]. We have an evening family meal, anything from risotto to polenta to sausages, and I have a glass of wine. I did an exclusion diet last year; gluten makes me feel sick.
Work
My routine is disparate. I am trying to juggle projects, and people ask me to be a patron or contribute to charity auctions; I get one or two requests a day. A lot of what I do isn’t studio-oriented – making a film, curating, working long-distance – so all parts of my brain are needed. When a deadline looms, you have to come up with the goods. As you get older, that pressure becomes demanding.
Family
My parents were always doubtful about my making a living as an artist. Even when I was up for the Turner prize, my mum suggested I apply for a curator’s job. We were a little nonplussed when Lily dropped A-level art for art history, but it has freed her up. We used to have to drag her to exhibitions, but she is much more keen now.
Fun
I love antiques and food markets. I used to swim every Sunday, but I bailed out because of a recent knee operation. When it gets warmer, I will return. I have friends over for dinner tonight. Two are composers, one directs TV and the other is a performance person. That’s one of the joys of living in London: everybody’s doing interesting stuff. After surgery, I emailed our neighbourhood community and within an hour I had 12 offers of crutches.
• Watch Cornelia Parker’s Object Of Obsession from 17 Feb at museumofthemind.org.uk/objects-of-obsession
