Heart of Glass

What even is dating in 2025? The old dinner and a movie has been replaced by Netflix and chill, which is much more convenient but not nearly as romantic. And if you’ve been married for a while, even that might be a stretch. Watching a whole movie after work, cooking dinner, getting kids to bed, etc.? Yeah, right.

Whether you love or hate Valentine’s Day, it’s an opportunity to remind our partners—or those we hope will become our partners—that we care for them. But that doesn’t require diamonds, dozens of flowers, or any other extravagance. Around Oklahoma, there are so many arts organizations that offer classes so you can spend time with your beloved while getting a little something extra—new skills and a one-of-a-kind memento.

Though I went with my friends instead of my husband, last Saturday we had a blast at a “Date Night” class at Strange Earth Studios in Midwest City, where we each made a different piece of stained glass art.

Some may find picking their favorite stained glass design to be the hardest part of a trip to Strange Earth Studios. Photo by Karlie Ybarra

Couples don’t need any prior experience or to bring any materials of their own, but they’ll want to arrive early. The studio has dozens of designs to choose from, so selecting your favorite might take a while. Then you have to sort through their glass library to choose colors for the various pieces.

Once artists select their design and glass, they start tracing the various pieces. My lava lamp, for example, required four different-sized rectangles. Then came the cutting, which our instructor carefully walked us through before we had a chance to hurt ourselves. The snap as the scored glass breaks just at the right spot was deeply satisfying.

No experience or materials are necessary for guests, just bring your crafting enthusiasm. Photo by Karlie Ybarra

The next step was to grind every edge so the sides are as smooth as possible and fit together as best they can. Then you wrap the edges in copper tape, pin them to a board so they can’t move, and paint a thin layer of grease on the copper.

Then comes the soldiering, which was the part that made me nervous. Me (clumsy) plus molten metal doesn’t sound like the best combination. But the teacher showed us exactly how to handle the soldier and the soldiering iron safely, so once I started attaching my pieces I felt at ease. After we filled in all the seams, traced the remaining copper, and smoothed everything as much as we could, our instructor added a hook for easy hanging, and we had four beautiful new pieces of art.

Karlie (far right) and friends show off their creations

The whole class took about two and a half hours, and while we were certainly focused on the task at hand, we still were able to chat as we worked. Furthermore, it cost $130 per couple, which is probably less than you’d spend on two concert tickets. And you can’t really put a price on learning or love anyway.

Written By

Karlie Ybarra

Managing editor Karlie Ybarra loves to explore her home state—and meet many of its animal citizens—any chance she gets.