Coirón? We've never heard of this material before until once again our friend, Ana Luisa from Chile, introduced it to us, albeit vicariously. (See what she has shown us in the past here.)

Coiron is a strong fibrous grass that grows in bunches. It is predominantly found in southern South America.

(Source: Flickr)

In the summer, the coirón bakes in the sun and turns into a naturally bright golden colour. The grass is woven together to make baskets and other traditional crafts.

Wild Chilean coiron collected from the hills near Lake Colbun.

Lake Colbun (Source: Flickr)

Where is Lake Colbun? Right here!

Our friend from Chile, an enthusiastic ikebanista, shared with us some photos of her arrangements using coirón. It must be wonderful to be able to work with such interesting material!

In the arrangement, she uses deep fuschia peonies to contrast the golden yellow of the coirón. The wavy lines create an interesting sense of motion!

These special coirón pieces were woven by Chilean artisans.

The arrangement to the left has blue hydrangeas and yellow roses.

The coiron form a captivating "cover" for the glass vases.

The work below is an archived photo (40 years ago!) of an arrangement using coirón by Ana Luisa's teacher, Maria Undurraga MacKenna (rank of 1st Grade Komon). We love this arrangement as it uses the coirón to add a certain lightness around all the chrysanthemums. It is a good contrast against the two arrangements above where the woven coirón drapes over the arrangement as a more solid material.

Thank you, Ana Luisa Quiñones, for sharing lovely ikebana with us!