Viva Tiling and won the TTA Tile Fixer of the Year Award in 2017 – the first woman ever nominated and the first female winner. “I was gobsmacked,” she said. “This year I was honored to be asked to present the award to this year’s winner.” Taylor loves the “fiddly details” when working with mosaics, and aspires to get into teaching. “There aren’t any mosaic courses here any- more as far as I’m aware,” she said. “I often get messages from tilers for advice on installing mosaics and I’m always happy to help. Social media is always good for showing how you do certain things. I never understand it when some get pro- tective over their knowledge.” Bethany Sheridan, Nova Tileworx, LLC Sterling, Va. A self-proclaimed rebellious, confident spirit, Bethany Sheridan of Nova Tileworx, LLC (novatile- worx.com) in Silver Spring, Md., seemed to have been born with a love for b u i l d i n g . “The men in my family would have b u i l d i n g wars on the weekends, and I desperately wanted to partici- pate,” she said. “I've always been a bit of a rebel and if you say I can't, I will show you I can,” she added. She developed a fascination with concrete 20 years ago, intrigued by the “endless possibilities of colors, aggregates, size, shape and func- tionality that could last a lifetime.” But the heavy, unforgiving nature of the material gave way to a love for tile, which she calls “more manageable,” but still allows her to “play in the mud.” She entered the tile business 13 years ago. Self-taught, Sheridan continues WOMEN IN TILE ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Taylor trained in mosaics at a Bisazza class in the UK and then in Vincenza, Italy. Bethany Sheridan, self- taught tilesetter: “If you say I can’t, I’ll show you I can.” Sheridan is very detailed and meticulous with her work. 48 TileLetter | October 2018