Joseph Lombardo moved to Columbus for Elyria, Ohio to study at the Columbus College of Art & Design. After earning a master's degree in fine arts from Bowling Green State University in 2006, he returned to the Columbus College of Art & Design as an adjunct professor in 2008. The eleven years Lombardo has spent in Columbus has allowed him to look at his adopted home as a subject, finding inspiration from the structure and nature elements found all over the city.