Icons are an essential part of Eastern Christian belief and worship, with the Holy Spirit as the Divine Iconographer. The icon, essential to contemplative prayer and practice, leads to a deeper communion with God, cultivating spiritual awareness and calling on the viewer to become one with God’s truth. The icon is a holy gift which is both a reflection of celestial glory and a concrete example of matter restored to its original harmony and beauty.
I am second generation American with Slavic roots. Being an Orthodox Christian, I prayed before the icons and felt the mystery of holiness in the personages depicted. Icons brought me into a world of joy and contemplation, and icons transported me into a world where the laws of existence were far more harmonious than in our temporal world. The images spoke truths to me: everything visible assumes an invisible dimension, everything created assumes an uncreated perspective, everything purely mundane becomes deeply mystical.

Korluka’s work is featured in her book Seeking the Face of Christ: the Way of an Iconographer. She offers classes in iconography and leads tours to Russia and other important sites for iconography.