When Ludmila Pawlowska started making religious art 15 years ago, it soon found its way from her studio in the Swedish countryside to the cathedral in Uppsala, the home of the Church of Sweden a few miles north of Stockholm. Her ever-growing, ever-evolving Icons in Transformation show was born.

The show has since toured Continental and British cathedrals - which, for the most part, are more cultural treasures and tourist destinations than they are the homes of living parishes. These shows were great successes, with robust attendance and rave reviews.

Now her art has come to the United States to tour cathedrals full of parishioners, crowded bulletin boards, coffee urns, worship services and committee meetings. The mostly Episcopal tour started this year in Lexington, Kentucky, and then moved to Cincinnati, where it opened at Christ Church Cathedral on May 6.

It's a big show: 180 pieces or more. It will fill the cathedral's nave, narthexes, corridors, library, chapel and prayer corner.

"This show is a real challenge for us," says co-chair Mike Phillips. "Thank goodness our planning committee includes artists, museum executives, media people and Priscilla Dunn, who is my co-chair and more organized than anybody else I know.

"This is a great opportunity for us to let our neighbors see art as a spiritual language - not just decoration. For Ludmila, this art is a path to God. It can be a path for many others, too."