Melissa Parke Rousseau is an abstract artist, designer, and the founder and creative director of THE LIS ATELIER / a multidisciplinary studio operating at the intersection of art, identity, and refined visual storytelling.

Melissa’s creative path began in the world of fashion editorial and luxury visual merchandising, including a formative chapter on the window design team at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. She later studied Metalsmithing at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, launching a handcrafted fine jewelry line inspired by the delicate structures of the botanical world.

She holds a Master’s in Art Education from the Rhode Island School of Design, where her philosophy of design as an emotional, intuitive, and sensory experience was further refined.

Melissa’s creative work is deeply informed by her extensive background in the healing arts. Alongside her formal design education, she spent over a decade as a certified breathwork guide, holistic nutritionist, herbalist, and massage therapist / modalities that continue to shape her intuitive, layered approach to branding, art, and creative direction. This intersection of visual refinement and embodied wisdom grounds THE LIS ATELIER’s distinct ability to craft brands and experiences that not only look beautiful—but feel deeply aligned.

Through THE LIS ATELIER, Melissa leads visual identity projects with a signature minimal, editorial lens / drawing inspiration from the tension between structure and softness, modernist architecture, sculptural materials, calming neutrals, the elegance of white space, bold photography, and the emotional resonance of space, type, and image.

In her painting practice, Melissa’s large-scale watercolors and mixed media works are rooted in reverence for the earth’s unseen rhythms / topographies, tides, and textures. Her latest body of work, The Aura Series, invites stillness, reflection, and reconnection / serving as visual portals into the emotional architecture of nature.

Today, she divides her time between her studio practice and creative collaborations with visionary founders, beauty and wellness brands, and cultural entrepreneurs / guiding them in articulating their essence through immersive, editorially driven design and refined visual worlds.