When Starwood Urban Investments bought three Connecticut Avenue buildings last April and jacked up the rents, Dupont Circle residents worried that the developer would replace an eclectic mix of merchants with national chain stores ("Blocked Out," 7/9/99). At least one storefront, however, has actually taken a turn for the weirder.

"PeepsShow," announces a sign in the window of the former Newsroom. The curbside exhibitionism, however, is no low-rent rival to the nearby Royal Palace strip club: The display is made of Peeps, the squishy, sugary marshmallow treats. Artist David Ottogalli created the exhibit, which includes the "Peeps Spangled Banner," made from pink, white, and blue candies. Starwood President Robert Wennett says his company donated the space for the exhibit, which will run through the end of April. "Some said it was better than the cherry blossoms," Wennett says. But architect John Wiebenson, who lost his 1739 Connecticut Ave. office after Starwood's rent hike, could do without the sidewalk art. "That's just horseshit," he says. "I think it's put into the corner to make it look less abandoned."

- Laura Lang

"A Whole Heap of Peeps. Why Eat Candy When You Can Turn It Into Art?"

Some people crave chocolate, others ice cream. Artist David Ottogalli has a thing for Peeps, the artificially colored, sickly-sweet marshmallows shaped liked chicks and bunnies. Each year around Easter, he buys hundreds of boxes, a ritual that raises eyebrows at checkout counters across the region. But Ottogalli eats only a few. He turns the rest into art.

After letting them harden and spray-painting them in his small back yard in Northwest Washington, Ottogalli, 36, uses the Peeps to make sculptures. One of them is a large American flag that can be viewed in his installation "Peepsshow," in the windows of the former Newsroom Cafe at Connecticut Avenue and S Street NW. It also features two boards covered with Peeps behind chicken wire and several other clever objects, like a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket brimming with Peeps.

"I like to put products in a light that you don't normally see," he says. Ottogalli has been obsessed with coloring food since he was a child growing up in Cleveland. He used to add red food coloring to his Cream of Wheat and ask for non-traditionally decorated birthday cakes, such as ones frosted in a checkerboard design of orange and green. Peeps were part of his annual Easter basket.

"My brother and sister didn't care for them too much, so sometimes I got their leftovers," he says. "There is a big debate among followers whether to eat them when they are soft or hard. I like them better when they are soft."

Comments from other Peeps fans can be found on Ottogalli's entertaining Web site, Peepsshow.com.

In addition to his marshmallow art, Ottogalli has created works using Fruit Loops and dyed macaroni. He doesn't know why food intrigues him as a medium. "I like the contrasting colors together," he says. "They just kind of come to life."

Ottogalli attended a technical college instead of art school, but he always knew that his latent creativity would one day manifest itself in his love of Peeps. This happened about eight years ago, when he moved into an apartment with spare space to store and spray his sugary stash. He's been selling his work at local $100 art sales organized by Annie Adjchavanich, who recently hired Ottogalli to decorate the window of the Arlington bar Ningaloo next month.

Ottogalli's Peeps magnets, which cost a dollar, are his most popular item at the art sales, although he's sold some larger works as well. A fellow fan bought a three-foot-long work made of Peeps bunnies. Unfortunately, ants eventually munched it. Ottogalli is trying to figure out a way to coat the Peeps so they don't disintegrate, chip or become bug snacks.

Ottogalli has not had much contact with Just Born, the Pennsylvania company that produces the marshmallow candy. One time he called when he called to see if he could place an order - Peeps are hard to find except during the spring - the company declined to sell him mass quantities at wholesale, but did mail 20 complimentary boxes. In gratitude, Ottogalli offered to donate a piece of his art. Just Born politely declined, he says.

Still, Ottogalli says, "I've got to give credit to the company. They make a great product. You can eat it and you can paint it."

"Peepsshow" is on display at 1753 Connecticut Ave. NW. Ningaloo is at 2000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington.

- Nicole Lewis, Washington Post Staff Writer