My love affair with hearts began in childhood. In the local Woolworth's each February, heart-shaped candy boxes suddenly bloomed like exotic flowers Perhaps the same plastic-rose-and ruffle-embellished boxes would seem tacky to me today but a heart, with its balance of curves and sharp angles remains one of my favorite shapes. I continue to struggle with the challenge of using a shape that is so ubiquitous that it can easily be seen as a cliche. In honor of Valentine's Day, here is one of Nature's own heart-shaped designs: a gracefully arching stem of bleeding hearts.