Author Archives: Kamelia Kilawan

Youwatie Kalicharan was once a 10 year old girl who didn’t want to go to her local Hindu temple in Richmond Hill, Queens. Now she is a 20 year old artist for “Creations by Wattie.” Youwatie has overcome strict immigrant parents and the confusion of being in a temple filled with images of deities she did not understand. Now she creates religious paintings inspired by her dreams and is an artist for Hindus in her community.

Youwatie R. Kalicharan beside a collection of "Creations By Wattie" in her home studio in Jamaica, Queens.

The Art of Beginning

Youwatie explained to me that she first became interested in art through school. She stated, “In school, being in art class was where I felt comfortable. And then when my parents had to force me to go to mandir [temple], I didn’t want to be there. Having no connection to the religion was really weird for me. As soon as I hit sixteen I started dreaming about all of these different gods. And not knowing who they were. Art was the only way I knew how to express myself.”

A painting done by Youwatie for her brother's Hindu wedding.

According to Youwatie, being a child with strict parents has worked as a major advantage for her as an artist. As I interviewed the intriguing community artist she said as a first-generation girl born of immigrant parents, “You are always wondering what decision you should make. Having strict parents and not being able to do what you want actually brought me closer to who I am now. When I meet kids who are inspired by what I do and ask how did you start, I tell them the fact that my parents did force me to go to temple and if they are in mandir [Hindu temple] they should find where their heart is at.”

Translating from Vision to Painting

Youwatie explained to me the process of translating visions in her dreams to artwork. Her first dream was of Mother Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction. She said, ” I woke up wondering, Who was that?” After she had done the research she found a deep connection with the Hindu goddess as a fierce form. For a week, she dreamt one god after another: Lord Shiva, Ganesh, Mother Durga and then she created a journal with all of her drawings. It was interesting to hear the story of a teenager who did not understand images of her religion’s gods and her magical process of translating visions of those gods into artwork.

A collage of "Creations By Wattie" depicting Hindu gods and goddesses. Youwatie's vision of Hindu deity Kali is depicted on the upper right hand corner.

Now Youwatie is a young artist and entrepreneur for her business, “Creations by Wattie” which provides religious paintings to Hindu temples and Indo-Caribbean Queens residents. After asking for her future goal Youwatie said, “I really do want to have a small painting boutique somewhere in the Richmond Hill, Queens area. To have a workshop would be great. So now I’m saving up money to find a small shop. That is my main goal.”

Photos and Text By: Kamelia Kilawan