“I think, in my heart of hearts, I’ve always wanted to be a rock star, to be the front man for a rock group, a rock band. That hasn’t happened! But to fulfill those kinds of crazy dreams, I’ll do karaoke.” Carrie Schiffler breaks into a laugh when asked to describe her introduction to onstage performance and singing with her husband, guitarist and songwriter, Rowan Hildebrand, in their duo, ‘Carrow.’
Carrie Schiffler, a one-woman whirling dervish of energy, fiery purpose, and adventurous spirit, is no stranger to the stage. She has a thirty-five-year kaleidoscopic career punctuated by periods as an actor in a series of CBC radio dramas, multiple acting credits for movie and television appearances, dancer, published memoirist, and poetess. She has also been a lifelong student of the arts.
“I do have a pretty kick-ass resume. I’m quite proud of it, but keep in mind I’ve been doing this for 35 years, so there’s months and months and months that go by without any work. It does add up to something that I’m proud of.” Carrie points out that she’s appeared in Murdoch Mysteries, Heartland, and worked with well-known actors James Caan and Peter Weller. “I did a series of Lotto Max commercials that were filmed in Hawaii and in the Bahamas. That was an incredible gig.”
Leaving Toronto, Carrie worked extensively in Regina and Calgary for over twenty years, always, when work was available, in the arts. Inheriting a much-beloved cottage from her grandmother in Katrine, Carrie moved to the area around 2016.
Since moving to the Almaguin Highlands ten years ago, she has developed into a nuanced watercolourist with a penchant for subdued, impressionist colour and subject matter. Her paintings are featured in the 2025 Huntsville Art CRAWL until August 30, at the Sustain Eco Store in Huntsville.
Painting has become her central form of expression between auditions for acting parts and weekend music with Carrow. Her passion for painting emerged during the pandemic lockdowns, literally teaching herself to paint from YouTube instructional videos, working first in acrylics but moving effortlessly onto the more subtle possibilities in watercolours. Her vivid imagery and style are reminiscent of notable impressionists like Monet and Renoir, but with her own unique vision of the natural world and subject matter. With delicate brush strokes and restrained use of hue and saturation, her paintings reflect a deeper, quieter, somewhat meditative version of her vibrant, loving and boisterous personality. She has advanced to the point in watercolours where she offers lessons for novices interested in the artform. Her first teaching session in July sold out. She plans to offer monthly workshops at the Owl and Moon in Burk’s Falls, if interest continues. https://cschiffler.bigcartel.com/
On August 5, 2025, Carrie will be exhibiting her watercolours at the Huntsville Public Library, and she is scheduled to participate in the paddle painting workshop sponsored by the Huntsville Art Society and Algonquin Outfitters. Carrie was included in the sixth Huntsville Festival of the Arts Canoe Mural Project at Huntsville’s River Mill Park.
Based on ‘Gifts of the Seven Grandfather Teachings’ — love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility, and wisdom, seven painters were selected to complete murals on the underside of canoes, which remain on public display in the park through fall 2025. “What an honor to be invited as one of the artists, I just learned so much, not just about painting with marine paint, which was a whole big learning curve, but learning about these seven gifts, these values that everyone could use to live your life by, to have a gentler, fulfilling life,” Carrie recalls from her time on the project.
Painting is a form of surrendering to the moment, staying present, abandoning expectations and setting your heart free. Allowing the brush, canvas and inward intuition to guide the hand, as the image flows, emerges, Carrie explains, in what might be described as creative spirituality and meditative stillness. She also emphasizes the need to be free and unrestrained, but above all, to play and have fun.
Schiffler recognized a need for self-expression as a teenager growing up in difficult family and social circumstances. She immortalized her experiences in a cunningly humorous memoir titled, ‘From the Corner of Bad and Ass,’ published in 2022. Summarized as a collection of Schiffler’s memories about growing up in welfare housing with absentee and alcoholic parents, fighting to survive adversity and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, all before the age of eighteen. The book is an intimate exploration of what it means to be seen, to be loved. Many performing artists acknowledge that they crave the attention of being centre stage, in the spotlight, and certainly, Carrie admits to its motivation in her pursuit of acting and singing.
Her first published book, in 2019, ‘Umbilicus, Poetry and Visuals of the Sensuous’, a collaboration with her daughter, painter and photographer, Johanna Stickland, combines Schiffler’s poetry with evocative photographic visuals. The poems, with the attendant images, are musings on sensuality, desire, hunger, and the aftermath. Schiffler is a provocative writer—sumptuous, ear-popping, rap-tinged and deeply sensuous. Both books are available in print and as audiobooks featuring Carrie as the narrator, at https://durvile.com and BarnesandNoble.com
Carrie reads ‘From the Corner of Bad and Ass,’ below.
With Carrow, Carrie and husband Rowan perform ubiquitously and frequently throughout Muskoka, generally centred in Burk’s Falls, where they also host an open stage at the Pub. They are often featured at Riverbowl. Carrie easily matches and harmonizes with Rowan’s propelling and up-tempo song choices. Gregarious and playful on stage, the duo offers a pleasant evening of entertainment, especially with Carrie’s sardonic wit and infectious, humorous stage banter. They are playing at Canvas Brewing Co., in Huntsville, on August 8, 2025, from 6-9 p.m.
Carrie Schiffler is a rare artistic savant, finding creative joy and expression through multiple formats, all with one common aim, to discover, explore and challenge herself to satisfy the inner heart’s need for fulfillment.
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