An insulating material 14 adapted for use in a high temperature environment for coating a turbine component is provided. The insulating material comprises a plurality of geometric shapes 18. The insulating material further comprises a binder for binding together the geometric shapes. A plurality of discontinuous fibers is added to the binder. The discontinuous fibers are adapted to controllably affect one or more properties of the insulating material. For example, non-fugitive chopped fibers 50 may be added to affect a tensile strength property of the insulating material, and fugitive chopped fibers 52 may be added to affect a density property of the insulating material.