Looming in the Shadows

The insidious invasion of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA)

Angela Jensen, RN

Artist's Statement

This gallery comprises ten works that I have created to symbolize various aspects of MRSA and its disease process. While I have dabbled throughout my life in many different types of art, my limited capacity for the patience it requires to truly learn an art form has made it impossible to become a master of any. I enjoy the therapeutic aspect of art and discovering how various objects can be used and incorporated into a work. Since my son's death in January of 2025, I have just recently been able to return to the creative process and allow these parts of myself to heal, at least to some extent. My hope is that what is shared here can generate awareness, inspire healing change, and spark creativity.

A Breach of Delicacy

Staphylococcus aureus (commonly referred to as Staph) is a very prevalent bacterium and causes methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections (CDC, 2025). Specifically, Staph strains resistant to multiple antibiotics to which typical Staph is susceptible are considered MRSA. Some strains even become resistant to vancomycin, a commonly used antibiotic to treat MRSA infections, and are therefore dubbed VRSA (Vancomycin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

Carved egg. A delicate shell that's sole pupose is to protect it's contents, the only line of defense against the seen and unseen forces that threaten the life inside. You can see the orbs in various formations throughout, sometimes singular, sometimes clustered in rows like an army ready to launch an attack. As I carved the egg, I was keenly aware of the tiny breaches I'd created in the defenses, allowing the invasion to begin.

I created this image that depicts S. aureus as it appears in a Graham stain under a microscope. Using plastic ornament orbs, I filled them with water and colored them using red and blue food dyes. I then strung the orbs in the sunshine from a line of twine at various heights to give them the appearance of a bunch of grapes. As I took photographs from various angles, I appreciated the translucency of the orbs. The vibrant sunlight streaming through and reflecting off of them, as though the UV rays were bursting through and creating an explosion.

A Microscopic Discovery

At the University of Aberdeen in Scotland in the early 1880’s, Alexander Ogston identified the bacterium Staphylococcus under a microscope and named it for the grape-like clusters (Myles & Datta, 2012). Separate strains were later isolated by German scientist Anton Rosenbach, who gave S. aureus its specific name because of the golden color it produced in colonies on bacterial media (“A Brief History of Staph,” 2006). Prior to the identification of the specific bacteria, Joseph Lister, an English surgeon, had recognized the usefulness of carbolic acid for wounds and post-surgical dressings, having learned from Pasteur's early research.

Nosegay

MRSA can live on the skin and in the nose without causing any problems for some people. Introducing the bacteria to open wounds via infected people or objects that have touched infected wounds is the most common form of transmission (CDC, 2025).

Watercolor pencil on paper. This drawing depicts one mode of MRSA transmission. Dubbed "Nosegay", meaning a small bouquet, the nose displays blooms of flowers coming out of the nares together with tiny bunches of grape-like orbs growing within and spilling out.

This is pencil and watercolor depicting one risk factor for MRSA. A young man who suffers from addiction is sitting on the sidewalk while the shadow of a dog looms over him, dripping MRSA bacteria all over him while preparing to swallow him whole.

The Shadow that Consumes Him

People are at higher risk for MRSA infections if they are athletes, attend school or daycare, live in military barracks, are patients in the hospital, or have surgery or implanted medical devices (CDC, 2025). People who use or are addicted to drugs have a significantly higher risk of developing MRSA infections, especially those who inject drugs intravenously.

Ravishing Septicity

Signs and symptoms of MRSA infections can include a bump on the skin with redness and swelling (CDC, 2025). It may have a white or yellow “head” or drainage. The infected area may be warm to the touch and painful, and the individual may have a fever. If left untreated, Staph infections, including MRSA/VRSA infections, can lead to pneumonia, or the infection can become systemic if it enters the bloodstream, leading to sepsis and possible death.

I created this image using mixed media: canvas board, acrylic and watercolor paint, cotton balls, Q-tips, gauze, gold leaf, and an IV kit, mostly items used in wound care. As I soaked the cotton balls with yellow paint and the Q-tips with orange paint, I was thinking of how it represents purulent drainage from the center of an infected wound. Reddening the gauze created the effect of the angry tissue surrounding the wound. The thorns on the foliage may have caused the initial wounds.

These are Santorini stones that I used resin and alcohol inks on to create the color patterns. While they can depict the eruption of fluids from an MRSA-infected wound during an I&D, they also share a relationship with the microscopic images of the pathogen itself. As each drop of ink fell into the wet resin and dispersed, it reminded me of the outward spread of Staph.

Eruption

People with Staph-infected abscesses generally require incision and drainage (I&D), with follow-up wound care that includes cleaning and repacking as needed (Mayo Clinic, 2025). This can be conducted in an urgent care setting or in the hospital. Typically, these infections are treated with antibiotics. If MRSA is confirmed or suspected, oral cephalexin or doxycycline is commonly used. In advanced-stage infections, people are often hospitalized and treated with IV vancomycin or cefazolin. Although there have been few documented cases of VRSA infections, antibiotics known to be effective in treating the disease include minocycline, rifampin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Cong et al., 2019).

Hands down, Suds Up!

Prevention of MRSA/VRSA infections in the general population is largely about good hand and body hygiene and keeping surfaces clean (CDC, 2025). In the hospital setting, there are entire procedures built around infection prevention, such as proper device cleaning and following contact precautions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2025).

Using baking clay, I created a white sink base with a faucet. Adding white and light blue to depict water and soapy bubbles and purple and gold to depict the pathogen, I envisioned the use of friction and soap to wash the bacteria from the hands and down the drain, preventing the spread of MRSA.

This was an experimental piece that I played with some new supplies. With acrylic paint and acrylic builder, I let myself get a little messy and did some finger painting. I was thinking about various aspects of MRSA - the golden grape clusters for which Staphylococcus Areus is named, the purple grape clusters revealed in a Graham stain, and the putrid pus that erupts from infected wounds.

Golden Grapes of Wrath

About 2 in 100 people in the US carry MRSA in their nose or on their skin, but there are about 70,000 severe infections and 9,000 deaths each year (CDC, 2025). In 2021 alone, approximately 130,000 deaths worldwide can be directly linked to MRSA infections (Briki et al., 2025)

Deception

A recent study, “Study: MRSA Nasal Swab Testing” (2026), found that performing a PCR nasal swab within 7 days of starting topical mupirocin decolonization treatment does not affect the test result.

Acrylic on Santorini stone. As I painted this piece, I pondered the deceptive nature of MRSA. Something that can live harmlessly on the surface of healthy skin-depicted by the soft purple flowers bunched with the tiny spherical, grape-like buds-but that can invade, infect, and even kill.

With various butterfly fabrics, I used a method called paper piecing to sew the blocks for this quilt. The butterflies are symbolic of rebirth in a new form, and the design of the quilt blocks themselves represents shattered pieces of what was once whole, coming back together in new and different ways, but "never quilt the same". Disclaimer: The purples you see in this quilt are actually pinks and blues; however, for the continuity of this gallery, I used technology to alter the color scheme.

Never Quilt the Same

My son’s legs come to mind when I close my eyes and think about this disease. In the last year of his life, he was frequently acquiring cellulitis infections, most of which were caused by Staph. When he would visit, I would see his legs, and my worry for him would explode. He always seemed to get proper treatment, however.

Thank you for taking this journey of artistic expression and discovery with me. My truest hope for you is twofold. One - that you learned something that will add value or aid in preventing illness in your life. Two - that you connected with and are enriched by at least one of my works.

References

A brief history of staph. (2006, January 15). Proto Magazine. https://protomag.com/infectious-disease/a-brief-history-of-staph

Briki, A., Alkhatib, N., Aloba, B., Verma, S., Nassar, R., Everett, D., Ehricht, R., Monecke, S., & Senok, A. (2025). Molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Gulf Cooperation Council countries (2010-2025): a scoping review. Frontiers in Microbiology, 16, 1714252. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1714252

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, June 26). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) basics. https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/about/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, June 27). Infection control guidance: Preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in healthcare facilities. https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/hcp/infection-control/index.html

Cong, Y., Yang, S., & Rao, X. (2019). Vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections: A review of case updating and clinical features. Journal of Advanced Research, 21, 169–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2019.10.005

Mayo Clinic. (2025, December 16). Staph infections: Diagnosis & treatment. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/staph-infections/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356227

Myles, I. A., & Datta, S. K. (2012). Staphylococcus aureus: an introduction. Seminars in immunopathology, 34(2), 181–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00281-011-0301-9

Study: MRSA nasal swab testing not compromised by mupirocin. (2026, March 30). Healio. https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20260330/study-mrsa-nasal-swab-testing-not-compromised-by-mupirocin

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