SNEAK PEEK : MAKING HIS OWN MARK.

Pasadena artist Russell Allen Clark calls himself simply a ``woodburnist.'' Somehow, that doesn't sound lofty enough to describe the delicate linework and textural variety he achieves with a single woodburning pen. Sometimes mistaken for pen and ink, watercolor or engraving, woodburning has its own distinct quality and subtlety.

Gloria Lee, owner of Gloria Lee Interiors & Gallery in La Canada Flintridge, suggests a term like ``pyrography,'' ``pyrogravure'' or ``firewriting'' (the literal translation of the first two terms). You may be inspired to coin your own poetic expression after seeing Clark's work in the gallery's current show, ``Paintings & Pyrography,'' which runs through Oct. 4.

Paired with Clark's work are the equestrian paintings of Sun Valley artist Walt Stewart. The gallery is at 838-1/2 Foothill Blvd. Call [phone].

Solitary man

There's nothing Americans love more than a self-taught genius, unless it's a self-made millionaire.

Few artists fit the former profile better than Joseph Cornell, the Brooklyn hermit whose famous ``shadow boxes'' turned ordinary refuse into hauntingly whimsical modern art.

Last fall, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) received a gift of 21 works from the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation. Consisting of six shadow-box constructions and 15 collages, the new works complement MOCA's extensive assemblage holdings.

Now the public is getting its first chance to compare and contrast, with an exhibition that suggests Cornell's influence on other artmakers. Showing through Sept. 14, ``Joseph Cornell: Connections to the Permanent Collection.''

MOCA, at 250 S. Grand Avenue, is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday. For information, call [phone].