Werger has always supplemented his studio work with drawing directly from the natural landscape. His preferred method is to work with colored media on black paper. Many of these subjects eventually find their way back into his Intaglio work, most often the subject of ocean side cliffs.For him there is a parallel between the drama of this natural erosion and the process of acid eating away metal.

To make Tidal Shift, Werger takes and revises panoramic photographs in Photoshop and draws directly on copper etching plates. He works the plate to get the landscape, figures and details, creating tonal areas that look like watercolor. He applies rosin to the plate and heats it to form a bond. He alternately draws on the plate and submerges it in acid, creating a range of tones from light to dark. Once the coating is removed, the plate is inked and printed. After revisions, Werger produces a limited-edition of hand-pulled prints.