The Biscuit Factory has saved two of their very best shows for the end of the year in the shape of work from Beatrice Forshall and Michael Disley.

I’ve fallen head over heels in love with the work of Beatrice Forshall (that’s her work pictured – a Huia bird; now extinct). She’s a printmaker whose dry-point engravings draw upon the natural world, and particularly conservation. Her passion for ecology is reflected in her subjects, and her long creative process features engraving, printing and finishing by hand. The results capture the beauty and the fragility of the wildlife she advocates for. Her work is part of the permanent collection at Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s home – The David Attenborough building. Michael Disley, meanwhile, is showing work going under the collective name ‘Quarry’. A stonemason, draftsman, sculptor, public artist and painter, his career has seen him embrace new ways of working with ancient stones. From childlike whimsical figures to classically formal trees, from clean graphic paintings to intricate carvings, his physical and philosophical connection to his work speaks to a practice of enduring observation.

Beatrice Forshall + Michael Disley: Quarry, until 28 February, Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, thebiscuitfactory.com