Zewei (Willa) O'Connor was born and raised in Shanghai, China, where she studied with a Chinese painter for many years. In 1981 she moved to Hawaii to study Business Administration and Fashion Technology. She lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota for five years where she began working in fiber arts.  In 1997 she move to Hood River, OR,  and has been showing her work at the ColumbiaArtGallery in HoodRiver and The DallesArtGallery. She currently resides in Salem, OR.

 Willa, a self-taught textile artist, has found fiber arts to be the natural way to satisfy her creative needs. She has developed her current style by experimenting with various quilting and sewing techniques to produce wall hangings, textiles and artwork that is unique and contemporary.

 She is a professional artist who works to satisfy her need to create as well as to support herself. She gets great satisfaction when total stranger writes to tell her they were moved by work they have seen at a show.

 Willa’s work has been shown throughout the United States and has been represented in a show that traveled to Germany. She has gained much recognition and won many awards for her work, notably a first prize in the New York Quilt Festival.

Willa's work can be seen at various art and craft shows throughout the Northwest. See the schedule of shows and gallery showings for a current listing.