Though large animals are nothing new to the Eastern Idaho State Fair, Tim Goodworth, the fair’s director of fine art, said that Tim Little’s 9-foot buffalo, made completely of recycled metals, including 50 bike chains for its mane, stopped people in their tracks.

Tim Little of Malad City entered his buffalo along with some of his other unique “Assemblage Art” into the fair in Blackfoot last year for the first time, never anticipating that it would also be his last.

Just five months after the fair, Little had a heart attack and passed away at 61. In his stead and honor, his wife, Teresa, and Goodworth, will be displaying some of Tim Little’s pieces at the fair, which runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 8.

“His art is now gone,” Teresa said. “You will not find anyone who can do what Tim did. He was very underappreciated in many ways. In the fine art world, Tim was not accepted as a true artist. Most people have never seen anything like his art.

“His art isn’t the type that causes emotion in one person a different emotion in another, which is what I think they want art to do. Tim’s art is so realistic, just how it’s put together is amazing in itself and yet it is not recognized.”

Unexpectedly foretelling the future, Teresa said their son named Tim’s final piece — a dinosaur raptor — “The Widowmaker” just before Tim passed away. Tim finished the raptor in January, delivered it to Art Around the Corner in St. George, Utah, where his art is being highlighted, and then returned to their home in Malad where he passed away. The directors of Art Around the Corner asked Teresa if she really wanted to continue to use the title “Widowmaker” for Tim’s final piece. Teresa decided to go ahead and keep the name “because it really was.”

Though the world of fine art might not have been ready for Tim’s art, Teresa said the people were.

“He almost always got the ‘People’s Choice’ awards,” Teresa said. “You can put his art anywhere and the people just come. It’s a people’s art.”

Tim’s pieces have often been used as “attractors” for art exhibits in places such as the Springville Museum of Art in Utah. Currently, his 20-foot sleek steam engine is attracting patrons to the The Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls. His blimp flies on Main Street in Salt Lake City as does one of his planes in front of the Coalville Courthouse.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints displayed Tim’s Tree of Life piece in their 9th International Art Competition in Salt Lake. Later, the church bought the piece and, as far as Teresa knows, has plans to display it in a future Tree of Life exhibit. Tim’s Baby Dragon Eggs are on display in Samaria, Idaho’s Heritage Square. His large buffalo was proudly featured in one of St. George’s busy roundabouts.

Tim Little didn’t become a full-time artist until he was in his late 40s. He grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and majored in art for a year at Rick’s College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) but decided to leave and apprentice as a master custom wood-worker. He and Teresa met, married and settled in Las Vegas where he framed houses, repaired furniture, learned how to put high-end finishes on pianos and did jewelry repair and design.

The couple moved to Logandale, Nevada, where Tim did private custom fine woodwork in the area. In 2001, while 4-wheeling on a nearby reservoir, Tim noticed a piece of driftwood.

“He told me, ‘That’s a dragon,’” Teresa recalled. “He took a week off from work and in my living room and carved the dragon head. He never went back to work.”

Teresa said Tim’s career shift was financially hard for the whole family, but that she and their six children supported him. She said he did many odd jobs to keep food on the table.

“All I have left is his art. Art was his gift and my part in the gift is that I supported it,” Teresa said. “He had to do it because it was what he did, but it was stressful. You are always told ideally to do what you love but doing what you love doesn’t always bring in what you need for your family. Our kids went without a lot. It was a family thing. His art is a big part of my life, too.”

Inspired by the dragon head, Tim’s earliest medium was wood. In 2005, Tim’s son bought him a welder, which sparked Tim’s transition in metal. He later added vintage touches, reflecting a bit of steampunk style which incorporates reimagined uses for industrial and vintage parts.

Teresa said Tim created around 200 pieces. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of several pieces is unknown. Seven years ago, Tim suffered a previous heart attack and several pieces had to be auctioned to pay the bills.

“At the auction,” Teresa said, “his art went for what we could have sold it for full price at a gallery. Family and friends went to the auction to try and buy it back, but it got too expensive and we couldn’t afford them.”

When the Littles had to leave their Utah home, Tim wanted to move to a more rural setting, which is what brought them to Malad in March 2017. Tim passed away less than a year later.

Tim’s largest creation, the buffalo displayed at last year’s EISF, now stands majestically on a hill at the entrance to the Little’s property in Malad and overlooks the cemetery in which its creator is buried.

More information can be found at timlittlesart.com or on Facebook and Instagram at Tim Little Art.