Rising Stars: Meet Krystal Chang

Today we’d like to introduce you to Krystal Chang. 

Hi Krystal, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I studied architecture at Cooper Union and then worked in architecture offices in LA for a few years before going to Auburn University for a graduate program in design/build construction. I came back to LA and worked for a general contractor on large-scale public projects. I was always interested in landscape and took a field botany class at a community college–my first real foray into the natural world! I’m trying to do work now that melds the different worlds that I’ve been in—architecture, construction, landscape, flowers, art…it’s a lot of different things that are tangentially connected, and I’m trying to make everything I do into a more continuous practice. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a relatively smooth if discontinuous road! I’m always looking to balance things out in what I do – working with flowers was a way to have immediate hands-on gratification after working on enormous construction projects that are years in the making and require so many people. With flowers, you start with color and texture and create form, while in architecture, it’s usually the opposite. The things I do are straightforward in themselves–a landscape design project, a floral installation, flower teas–and it all feels connected to me, but it is difficult to contextualize everything together. There are so many different things I’m interested in and would like to pursue, and sometimes I need to put things aside for later. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My practice is very project-based but everything is in the realm between art, architecture, landscape, and flowers. The balance of works shifts from day to day–right now, I’m mostly focused on landscape projects, a public art project, and the flower teas that I hand-blend. I recently did another iteration of the Flower Machine – a participatory public art installation where people draw a flower, input it into the machine, and receive a real flower in return. Designing a garden and creating an herbal tea blend are all different facets of the same thought process to me. It’s all about the interrelationships of the world. When I started my business, I started with the idea that I wanted to create beautiful things. Not pretty things—and I think the difference is that there is another layer of meaning that expands the immediate to a larger world. With flowers, it’s not just how it looks but how it works and what it means—ecologically, scientifically, historically, culturally. It expands your understanding of the world–how one thing relates to another and how rich with meaning everything can be. One of the reasons I work with nature is it makes you realize how many different ways there are to be in the world! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I think luck is real but also you make your own luck. I try to take things as they come – sometimes, something just isn’t meant to be! And something that seems unfortunate may turn out not to be! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.krystalchang.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystalchang/